South Korea’s financial watchdog has informed top executives at three securities firms of its plan to impose disciplinary action over the misselling scandal involving Lime Asset Management, according to Financial Supervisory Service officials and industry sources Wednesday. The FSS gave prior notice to Shinhan Investment, KB Securities and Daishin Securities on Tuesday that they will be reprimanded for misleading consumers by providing them with inaccurate information about Lime’s

South Korea’s foreign reserves continued to rise in September for the sixth straight months, mostly on the back of the country’s sale of foreign exchange stabilization bonds and partly due to investment returns, central bank data showed Wednesday. The foreign reserves totaled at a record high of $420.6 billion as of the end of September, up $1.59 billion from a month earlier, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. The given figure comprises securities and deposits denomin

LS Cable & System Ltd., South Korea's leading wire and cable manufacturer, said Wednesday it has purchased a 30,000-square-meter plot of land in Poland for a possible expansion of its operations. A company official said no decision has been made yet on building production facilities on the new site, which is next to LS Cable's second plant in the southwestern Polish town of Dzierzoniow. The second plant, which is yet to be completed, will produce parts for electric vehicle batteries. Last

South Korean shares extended their winning streak to a sixth session Wednesday as US President Donald Trump kept hopes for a stimulus package alive after postponing negotiations for the deal. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 21.04 points, or 0.89 percent, to close at 2,386.94. Trading volume was moderate at 722.8 million shares worth 8.8 trillion won ($7.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 483 to 309. Retail inves

Yoo Myung-soon, interim chief executive officer of Citibank Korea, was recommended as the sole candidate for the bank‘s top post, paving the way for her to become the first female CEO of the local branch of the US lender. The appointment recommendation committee under the South Korean subsidiary of the New York-based bank is set to confirm the appointment of Yoo during a general meeting of stockholders and board of directors slated to be held on Oct. 27. Yoo, the bank‘s senior ex

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Wednesday renewed calls to establish rules to ensure fiscal soundness as he voiced concerns about South Korea's debt and fiscal deficit. Hong made his case for the rules during a parliamentary annual inspection of the ministry, citing a looming hike in South Korea's debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio. The ratio is expected to reach 43.9 percent this year as South Korea drew four rounds of extra budgets meant to ease the fallout of the coronavir

South Korea’s central bank said Wednesday that it plans to start testing the distribution of its digital currency next year. The Bank of Korea announced in April that it had launched a 22-month pilot program that would run through December 2021. According to the BOK, the distribution and circulation test is the final part of the three-step pilot program. Phase 2, which focuses on analyzing related processes and seeking outside consulting, started recently. Phase 1, designing

The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, the nation’s leading mutual financial institution, held an annual exchange program with its counterpart in Thailand to introduce the group’s ongoing projects and management tips, officials said Wednesday.  Arranged as one-day videoconference in line with the government’s strict quarantine measures against the COVID-19 resurgence, the training event provided a series of online lectures on KFCC‘s fund managemen

Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies sharply rose in the second quarter from a year earlier due mainly to the government's emergency handouts and an extended slump in private consumption amid the pandemic, the central bank said Wednesday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 64 trillion won ($55 billion) in the April-June period, sharp

South Korea said Wednesday it has set up new guidelines for pig farms hit by African swine fever (ASF) as they are gradually preparing for reopening after the disease swept the inter-Korean border area last year. "As the virus can spread by automobiles, people or other mediums, it is necessary to enforce sanitary measures to prevent the farms from contacting the virus," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. The new measures center on providing detai

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said Wednesday it has maintained South Korea's credit rating at "AA-" with a stable outlook. Fitch's rating for South Korea has been AA-, the fourth-highest level of the agency's sovereign ratings, since 2012. "Korea's rating balances robust external finances, steady macroeconomic performance and sufficient fiscal headroom going into the coronavirus pandemic against geopolitical risks related to North Korea and medium-term structural challe

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 15 percent in September from a year earlier due to strong demand for German cars, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles rose to 21,839 units last month from 20,204 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models were Mercedes-Benz's E300 4MATIC sedan and A 220 sedan, and the Audi A6 45 TFSI sedan, the statement

T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Wednesday it will begin flights to Japan next month mainly to meet business travel demand. T'way Air will resume services on the routes from Incheon to Osaka and Tokyo on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6, respectively, with a plan to eventually provide flights on routes to Nagoya and Fukuoka, the company said in a statement. The budget carrier said it will initially offer one flight a week on the routes to Osaka and Tokyo as the new coronavirus outbreak cont

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday it plans to test-run issuing and circulating a central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC) next year, as the bank will launch a pilot program to study the potential introduction of a new cryptocurrency.   In March this year, the BOK began reviewing legal and technological issues to check its capabilities for the possible issuance of such a currency under its three-step scheme.   The bank plans to establish and activate a pilot program

South Korean shares opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street after US. President Donald Trump said he would postpone talks for a new stimulus plan until after the upcoming US elections. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.84 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,354.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index tracked overnight losses on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.3 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index